¡INOCENTE¡ Did you fall for our fish and chips story?

Tuesday 28th December 2021 – PRESS RELEASE with Mike Smith

¡INOCENTE! ¡INOCENTE! Did you fall for it? Or did you see through our little joke? The British Regional Office for the Marina Alta (BROMA) is, of course, the Spanish word for “joke” whilst its spokesperson “Joe Wreaking” is an anagram of “I am joking”. And we managed to squeeze in another anagram in the form of our Benidorm bar owner “Jake Isot” … “It’s a joke”.

If you did fall for it, don’t worry; you weren’t the only one. If you didn’t, well done. But be prepared for next year! (If you missed it, see the “news report” below.

Today – December 28th – is ‘El Día de los Santos Inocentes’, which is the equivalent of April Fool’s Day in other countries when pranks are played on unsuspecting victims, the ‘inocentes’ or ‘innocents’.

However, it is an important day in the calendar of the Catholic Church for it commemorates the story of the massacre of all the male babies in Bethlehem on the order of Herod, King of Judea, after being told that the future King of the Jews would be born there. They are considered to be the first Christian martyrs, the ‘Holy Innocents’, although the story has long been thought to have been an invention of the Gospel of Matthew, rather than based on any real event, and these days the religious aspect of the feast day has been largely forgotten and replaced by the pranks, the supposed justification being that Jesus escaped the hands of Herod.

The traditional joke is to put a puppet or a ragdoll – known as “monigotes” – on people’s backs whilst celebrities from TV and screen are often made the butt of jokes on a TV special to raise money for a good cause. In some areas it’s rather like the American phenomenon of ‘trick or treat’ which children going from door to door, making plenty of noise and demanding a ‘payment’ to stop, normally something sweet like the traditional ‘polvorones’ that are sold at this time of year. And if you’re dipping into the sugar bowl to sweeten your tea or coffee, check first as it’s a popular trick to substitute salt for the sugar.

At javeamigos.com, we have produced several classic ‘inocente’ tales over the past few years, including:

• 2012: The rumour that a new four-lane tunnel was to be dug underneath the Montgó mountain to provide quick access to Dénia.
• 2013: The proposal to build a three-stage cable car from the Plaza de la Constitución to the summit of Montgó.
• 2014: The intention to turn the mountain road between Xàbia and Dénia into a toll road.
• 2015: The plan to charge foreign-plated cars to pay for parking by the Arenal beach.
• 2016: The rumour that the Arenal zone was going to declare itself independent from Xàbia.
• 2017: The Province of Alicante planning to adopt GMT along the Costa Blanca region.
• 2018: The proposal to introduce ANPR technology in Xàbia to monitor traffic in the town and check for proper registration.
• 2020: EU-subsidized infrastructure could soon be off-limits to British citizens.

Fish and chips awarded regional dish for Costa Blanca region in 2022

The British favourite fish and chips has been declared a regional dish of the Costa Blanca for 2022, according to a statement issued by the British Regional Office for the Marina Alta. The popular meal was voted most popular in a survey, finishing top of the poll ahead of the Full English Breakfast, the Sunday Roast (with all the trimmings), and the beloved Bangers and Mash.

The dish joins La Pericana and Arroz a Banda as a representative food for the coast of the Alicante province, reflecting the fact that almost 70,000 British citizens are registered as resident in the region. The authorities also hope that the treasured status will encourage more Brits to travel to the Costa Blanca for their holidays during 2022.

A spokesman for BROMA, Joe Wreaking, explained that the Costa Blanca Tourist Commission wanted a representative food for the UK and that they ran a poll during the summer and autumn of this year on the streets of Benidorm, asking British citizens, both resident and tourists, of their favourite dishes from home. Shepherd’s Pie, Lancashire Hotpot and Ploughman’s Lunch also scored well but the famous Fish and Chips finished top of the pile, a dish that actually has its roots in Spain.

Benidorm bar owner Jake Isot was thrilled with the news. “No-one really wants to eat this Spanishy stuff,” he said. “A good old piece of deep-fried cod served with some chips is much better for the body and soul, washed down with a decent pint of Heineken. We’re thrilled that fish and chips will at last become part of Spanish culture next year.”